Aid to writing



(No Model.)

- AID T0 WRITING.

No. 558,632. PatentedApr. 21, 1896.

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i l "It A FFICE GUSTAF CARLSON, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

AID TO WRITING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,632, dated April 21, 1896. Application filed September 13,1895. Serial No, 562,394. (No model.)

To caZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAF CARLsON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aids to WVriting, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use the same.

In the method of writing as commonly taught the hand which holds the pen rests 011 the tips of at least two of the fingers, the little finger and the one next to it usually forming a support and guide to the hand as it moves lightly over the surface written upon.

It often happens that through the moisture of the fingers or for some similar reason the hand drags and is impeded in its motion by the friction between the finger-tips and the surface written upon, so that irregularity in the writing is produced as well as fatigue to the writer.

The object of my invention is to provide a device by means of which the hand may be more evenly supported, the friction made more nearly constant or regular, and the hand aided in its movement; and to this end my invention consists in the fin ger-rest having the bearing-surface and fin ger-holds, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of the finger-rest and slide. Fig. 2 is a detail view in lengthwise section through the slide and the finger-holds. Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the act of writing and the relative position of the hand, a pen, and the finger-rest.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter a denotes the finger-rest as a whole, which may be made of any convenient material, as metal, cast or otherwise formed to shape, of hard rubber, of celluloid, or of any other convenient material. This rest is provided with a bearing-surface 1), preferably fiat and of a size which will vary according to the material of which the article is made, the surface, however, being sufficiently large to enable the easily alon rest to maintain a horizontal position while it is being moved sidewise by a pushing movement of the fingers, which are inserted in the finger-holds.

The upper surface of the rest a is provided with finger-holds c, which are preferably indentations formed in the upper surface and of a size and shape to permit the easy introduction of the finger ends of the average hand. Cup-shaped recesses have been found to answer the purpose very well; but the precise form of the recess is not material, the proper support and engagement of the finger ends in the rest, so that as the hand is moved in the act of writing the rest will be moved g by the pushing movement, being all that is required.

The method of using this device is clearly shown in the perspective view, Fig. 3, of the drawings, in which the pen, held in the usual position between the thumb and first two fingers, is in proper position for writing, the hand being supported on the tips of the fingers, which are in turn supported by the fingerrest, which is placed upon the surface of the paper to be written on. As the hand is moved in writing, the rest slides easily and smoothly across the surface of the paper, the bearingsurface of the rest being so shaped as not to catch or clog.

This finger-rest may be conveniently made of celluloid molded to shape, and when so constructed the finger-rest is slight and of a material sufficiently dense, smooth, and free from the influence of the atmosphere to enable the device to be used with the best results.

I claim as my invention As an improved article of manufacture, a finger-rest formed to shape with a lower bearing surface with rounded edges and cupshaped recesses with partitions between them in the upper surface forming finger-holds, all substantially as described.

GUSTAF GARLSON. Witnesses CHAS. L. BURDETT, O. E. BUCKLAND. 

